TCW vs. Rebels debates are not allowed in the Television forum. As in, discussions that descend into TCW/Rebels bashing/gushing will be subject to Mod action. Contrasting the themes, story lines, characters, etc. between the shows is allowed (welcomed, even). "Versus" debates/arguments, however, are a deal-breaker.

Could this mean that the Clone Wars takes place over a longer period of time, like maybe ten years?

I can actually see that happening. Especially considering how much they've pretty much condensed all previous Clone Wars media into the 7 weeks after the Battle of Geonosis. Extending the Clone Wars to, say 5 years, would be a big continuity change, but it might be better than what is happening right now.

I think season 5 should be the last; at this point it's clear they are out of good ideas. Maul's return showed that. Furthermore the show is quickly approaching RotS, which already has an abundance of material covering the last few months of the war comprehensively. For me, at the moment, the less damage to the plethora of brilliant canon such as Labyrinth of Evil, the microseries, the RotS and Reversal of Fortune, the better. Lucas and Filoni steamrolling their way through the well established and documented lead up to and battle of Coruscant would be, in my opinion, the worst possible outcome for the series. Considering the shows increasing focus on Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka *yawn* as opposed to focusing on a variety of lesser characters is something I don't agree with; it makes the war seem small and heightens the ridiculous nature of the season three and beyond plots.

For me, I wish the show ended after season two due to its downward and destructive spiral.

I think we can give them this season to do more of the same "adventure of the day" stuff, but with signs that the end is coming and RotS is close. Season 6 I think would be a good time to show the end, have a whole season to deal with the characters' fates, because there are a lot of them.

But that probably won't happen. They'll likely go 8 seasons if they can. The Clone Wars is apparently as long as Phineas and Ferb's summer vacation. =p

Could this mean that the Clone Wars takes place over a longer period of time, like maybe ten years?

I can actually see that happening. Especially considering how much they've pretty much condensed all previous Clone Wars media into the 7 weeks after the Battle of Geonosis. Extending the Clone Wars to, say 5 years, would be a big continuity change, but it might be better than what is happening right now.

People! 3 years is a long time. Most of the events in each TCW arc happen for a few days and a standard year has 365 days so they could go wild if they for instance indicate that the Onderon arc, the Clovis arc, the R2/Gregor arc and the Maul/Mando arc are happening all at the same time. That would mean that half a season happened in the span of less than a week. Less than 7 days out of 365...

I wouldn't say that I am actually unhappy with the direction of the series, though I do get annoyed when they screw with the continuity of the expanded universe. I do, however, have a problem with the fact that they are airing the series in the mornings now. I loved the prime time slot it was in for the past four seasons. The show is not really meant for the youngest of fans, what with the violence and some of the more complex storylines, so why put it on in the midst of a bunch of kiddie cartoons?

It's up to CN when they air the show. Lucasfilm have no control over it. The reason for the move is that CN wants to have their action heroes on Saturday mornings as part of the action block since they want to focus on other things I believe. I don't think Lucasfilm are pleased with the move.

For those who say "keep it going forever" and "the more the better", what about these concepts?

- Fitting within a known, finite timeline. Even if they go beyond Order 66 and ROTS this is still an issue.

- Having stories left to tell. At some point (arguably we've already passed it) they will wander into "beating a dead horse" territory, making plotlines up just for the heck of it. There is a larger story to tell, and the episodes should serve it in at least some small way. At this rate, we're going to end up with a four-part arc where Anakin gets mad at a dry cleaners for screwing up his Jedi robes and Ahsoka has to intervene and tell him everything will be OK.

I voted for season 10 and maybe a bit beyond. Its great to hear that they want to continue to move forward and that the best stories are yet to come. I think this season is wonderful and there is more to come out

For those who say "keep it going forever" and "the more the better", what about these concepts?

- Fitting within a known, finite timeline. Even if they go beyond Order 66 and ROTS this is still an issue.

- Having stories left to tell. At some point (arguably we've already passed it) they will wander into "beating a dead horse" territory, making plotlines up just for the heck of it. There is a larger story to tell, and the episodes should serve it in at least some small way. At this rate, we're going to end up with a four-part arc where Anakin gets mad at a dry cleaners for screwing up his Jedi robes and Ahsoka has to intervene and tell him everything will be OK.

yeah but I don't want my stories left to Dark Horse comics. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I want my stories on television and animated like they are now.

Could this mean that the Clone Wars takes place over a longer period of time, like maybe ten years?

I can actually see that happening. Especially considering how much they've pretty much condensed all previous Clone Wars media into the 7 weeks after the Battle of Geonosis. Extending the Clone Wars to, say 5 years, would be a big continuity change, but it might be better than what is happening right now.

People! 3 years is a long time. Most of the events in each TCW arc happen for a few days and a standard year has 365 days so they could go wild if they for instance indicate that the Onderon arc, the Clovis arc, the R2/Gregor arc and the Maul/Mando arc are happening all at the same time. That would mean that half a season happened in the span of less than a week. Less than 7 days out of 365...

I know. It's just their differences in appearance from Clones to Sith seem very far apart, that's all, not to mention Clones and Hope.

It's up to CN when they air the show. Lucasfilm have no control over it. The reason for the move is that CN wants to have their action heroes on Saturday mornings as part of the action block since they want to focus on other things I believe. I don't think Lucasfilm are pleased with the move.

There are other channels in the world. CN is not the only one. If CN does not want to buy it anymore then Nick could get it...

Aside from Anakin telling Obi-Wan that he had not seen Padme in 10 years and that Sifo-Dyas had died roughly 10 years prior to AOTC, Lucas has never really given any kind of indication as to how everything fits together on a timeline. Nowhere in the films to my knowledge is it stated that the Clone Wars is three years long. I don't know where that number originated, like if it's in a script or a product of the EU or just something assumed since there is a three year gap between the films (would be arbitrary if that were the case). I remember Lucas making some off hand comment about the war lasting a few years but don't recall the source.

I mean if Lucas came out and said it was 4 or 5 years long instead of 3, that really wouldn't hurt anything beyond dates on paper. It would be like finding out that ROTS occurred over the span of 3 days or 3 weeks. It wouldn't change a whole lot. And since there's no mention about years rolling over or how long it has been since the battle of Geonosis on screen, then it can't really be said for certain how near or far we are from ROTS. Just because new clone armor and new ships show up doesn't mean ROTS is imminent. That's like reading a book about the Vietnam War and deciding that the Vietnam War must be coming to a close in 1966 when the M14 starts to be replaced by the M16, that would be an entirely arbitrary assumption. And I think that if one lesson could be taken away from TCW, it's that anything the EU has previously established (in this case regarding dates) will most likely be completely ignored.

It could be the very beginning of the second war, or maybe in Lucas' mind we're at the very end of the third going into the fourth, because maybe in his mind the war isn't exactly 3 years long. Without any good frame of reference it's impossible to tell. And if the show goes on for another 4 or 5 seasons, the timeline being pieced together by Leland might yet be revised further, rather than cramming all of the events of the latter 4-5 seasons into a timeframe of several months.

I think during the time of ROTS promotion Lucas was saying it was three years between Ep II and III but it isn't stated in the film. The three years for the Clone Wars is a part of the EU... that's the basis everything is established on but I think that source must have come from Lucas originally.

However I do agree because its not stated in the films there is leeway for them to extend the war. Move TPM and AOTC further back in the timeline. That makes Anakin older for when he becomes Vader. Luke and Leia are still born in the same year, same age throughout the OT... Personally I have no problem with the war being extended to fit everything in. It's entirely feasible and easy for me to accept.

If its not stated in the films then the war is not necessarily three years long... the only thing stated is that TPM and AOTC do have to be 10 years apart.

For those who say "keep it going forever" and "the more the better", what about these concepts?

- Fitting within a known, finite timeline. Even if they go beyond Order 66 and ROTS this is still an issue.

- Having stories left to tell. At some point (arguably we've already passed it) they will wander into "beating a dead horse" territory, making plotlines up just for the heck of it. There is a larger story to tell, and the episodes should serve it in at least some small way. At this rate, we're going to end up with a four-part arc where Anakin gets mad at a dry cleaners for screwing up his Jedi robes and Ahsoka has to intervene and tell him everything will be OK.

yeah but I don't want my stories left to Dark Horse comics. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I want my stories on television and animated like they are now.

At least Dark Horse can tell good stories, and can weave intrigue, politics and warfare. Ironically, DH did the whole war back in 2003-5, and much better (imo).

I think it feels closer to RotS because the characters resemble their RotS selves now. But we don't know how long the war lasts, we can just assume years have gone by since Season 1, judging by how Ahsoka mysteriously went from 14 to 16-17 in Season 3.

I don't care much about the timeline though and I'm not crazy about keeping cannon consistent. I'd rather have better writing, stories, characters, and animation.

TCW is canon. Stuff it steamrolls is not anymore. This canon versus TCW discussion is using the wrong terminology. EU =/= canon.

EU is officially canon unless outright contradicted/overwritten by G or T canon. Am I happy with that? Not really, but it's worthless to complain anymore, especially since a lot of the "steamrolling" can and is being integrated with older canon.

As for me, I can live with this series lasting a long time. Would I be sad if S6 or S7 were the last? Nope. Shows end, and TCW will end eventually. With TOR, Detours, Underworld, and whatever 1313 will be there's plenty of visual media for SW in the foreseeable future.